On a recent morning, Jack Luu parked his plug-in Toyota Prius in one of the most expensive lots at Los Angeles International Airport before flying off to a film shoot in Canada. The lot, where Mr. Luu leaves his car as many as 10 times a month for business trips, normally charges $30 a day.

But when Mr. Luu returned home three weeks later, he drove out, as usual, without paying a dime.

"That was a huge reason why I bought the car in the first place," says the 35-year-old Santa Monica, Calif., postproduction company executive, whose car qualifies for free parking for up to a month at a time in two of LAX's most convenientand costlyshort-term lots.

Electric cars charging in one of the short-term lots LAX, where such vehicles are allowed to park free for 30 days.

.Other than that, he says his ride is "expensive, underpowered and not really all that green," because it can run just 12 miles on electricity before switching to gas.

“...lately it has turned the lots into a mob scene, with some electric-vehicle drivers circling the stations desperately for electricity or running extension cords while others hog the charging spaces for weeks at a time.”

No wonder the Libs in CA like gun control when they come up with schemes like this that make even Greenie Weinees crazy.

My wife and I went to stay at the new Disney hotel in Hawaii last Feburary. Sure enough, right up front on every floor of the parking garage were several spaces/charging stations for electric cars. With the exception of one or two cars, they were unoccupied. So here you go LAX greenies, free parking in Hawaii.

Not all that many years back East Coast was in the throes of a drought.
Water conservation was the key...DON’T wash cars, DO your laundry at night etc etc etc..
After 6 or so months of compliance, the WATER RATES WENT UP because WE were not using (Paying for) enough of it.

Throw a mileage tax on 50+ MPG vehicles cause they aren’t spending enough at the pump.

In the issue of Armed Guards at Public Schools, saw a letter to the editor....If we can afford to have police sit in speed traps and DUI checkpoints, we can put someone in a Public School, at least rotate them....hmmm(I ‘kinda’ added
Especially since the traps and checkpoints are NOT for revenue).

One of MY “All time favorites”, during a long cold spell in Northeast US, they were pushing for average elec rates, the utilities complied, and for more than a few winters, the utilities ‘took it in the shorts during cold weather’.
Weather broke, had a year of very mild winter (avg billing still in place) and the following year was also mild so the customers SUED over the ‘avg billing’ AND WON. Not sure, but something tells me the Cos may have had to either pay back or credit those that had benefited by the COLD winters.

Not that I disagree with any of the above BUT it sure is nice to point out that once you ‘follow their advice’ they come back to stick it to you.

10
posted on 01/05/2013 8:32:37 AM PST
by xrmusn
(6/98 "It is virtually impossible to clean the pond as long as the pigs are still crapping in it")

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. -C. S. Lewis

12
posted on 01/05/2013 8:55:47 AM PST
by TurboZamboni
(Looting the future to bribe the present)

Yup, and the don’t pay any of the road use taxes the rest of us pay when we fill up either. And the latest government gotcha is up in good old Oregon where they are now going to increase taxes on EVs because they are not “paying their fair share” of road use taxes and the claim that their roads are going to hell.

As a Nissan Leaf owner I don’t think the free parking/charging is the way to go. It will be better if theater, restaurant owners etc. can make a profit off the chargers. Then there will be more of them in convenient locations. I do fine charging mine overnight on regular 110V. By the way I have had my Leaf almost 6 weeks and I must say it is the best car I have ever owned (well since the 1967 VW Bus I had as a teenager anyway). It is fun to drive and feels very refined. The 2013 models coming out will be even better (faster charge and more range). Mitsubishi has a plug in AWD version of the Outlander coming out in 2014. It will go 33 miles on battery alone. You will be able to use that battery power whenever you want and recharge up to 70% while on the freeway. That means you can save the battery power for city driving. Hopefully the battery technology will advance like computers did and we will get something out of the billions of taxpayers dollars spent. Otherwise it will be an awful waste.

I wonder if I could park my gas-engined car in one of those spots and run an extension cable from the charging station into the trunk. Who is to know that it is not a “retro-conversion”? Maybe even put a “Greenie” sticker on the bumper? :-)

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